eturning home after STORY 2017 requires self compassion, rest, and contemplation. Self compassion so you don’t beat yourself up over not being as accomplished as the speakers and other attendees. Rest because you probably didn’t get much over the 2 1/2 days in Nashville. And contemplation because this year’s theme, “A Carnival of Curiosity,” invited attendees to put away fear that often stops creatives in our tracks and replace it with curiosity.
There were magical lamps, ridiculous jugglers, inspiring speakers, practical workshops, and more.
But this year, more than the past two years I’ve attended, I left asking myself important and hard questions.
- What if…
This was first asked by Pinterest Creative Director, Mackenzie Huynh, whose personal and engaging talk challenged us to leverage “best case scenario mind control.” In other words, what if we asked “What if?” with amazing, positive outcomes such as “What if I regret nothing?” and “What if I nail it?” My friends and I started employing this right away…”What if Biscuit Love biscuits are actually negative calories?” Ok, we didn’t really do the latter, but you can see how powerful a shift like this can create in our doubt-filled thinking patterns.
2. What happens next?
Jim Krueger of Marvel comic fame spoke from the perspective of the long story. Both in stories, and in life, when we ask ourselves, “What happens next?” we get to develop our characters (figuratively and literally) and are able to envision the future reality we think matters.
A Dynamic Duo
Coupled with the positive “What if…” scenarios, I think this can be a game changer. When our “What Happens Next?” answers are filtered through the lens of “What if ?” we can return to the playful imagination we hopefully all enjoyed as children. And while most of us are in the harsh throws of adulting, the benefit is that we are much more likely to have them means to turn that imagination into something tangible.My What If /What Happens Next answers involve a lot of writing, dreaming, and meeting with people who can support those dreams, make them better, and help make them a reality. Oh, and I plan on doing the same for others.
What would your answers be??Note: this video played seconds after the last speaker left the stage, and actually included clips of said last speaker, which was insane. But more poignant was the reaction of Story Producer/Director, Harris III, who was brought to tears (assuming happy, exhausted tears) as he came on stage to close the conference out. I’m pretty sure there were a lot of non-dry eyes during the standing ovation that followed.